Here’s a news flash: We’ve been fed a fat lie by the food industry and the weight loss community.

Summed up, the lie is this: All calories are created equal. To which I say No, NO, NO! I am boldly going out on a limb to say that is dead wrong. If their advice were accurate, we would all be thin and healthy by now.

According to this concept, obesity is simply a matter of eating too many calories—that the types of foods you eat aren’t nearly as important as the caloric value of foods. Eat less, move more and weight loss will occur. While simplistically it is true, this doesn’t consider the actual nutritional and metabolic effects food has on the body.

Think about small-sized fries, burger and soda (around 500 calories) vs. a bowl of GEM lentil soup, kale salad and a green juice (500 calories). Both are mostly “carbs”—currently taboo in the trendy “diet world.” But never mind that for now.

Riddle me this: Do they have the same effect on our bodies? Do you feel the same after eating these meals? Of course not! We all know that equal caloric amounts of junk food and veggies can’t be the same nutritionally. So why is this?

Here’s what happens to your body with the not-so-happy-meal of burger, fries and soda: The fiber-free sugars of the soda are rapidly absorbed. Your blood sugar spikes, starting a chain reaction of very unwanted hormonal responses that contribute to the storage of belly fat, increased inflammation, elevated triglycerides, higher blood pressure, lower testosterone in men and even infertility in women. Danggg. Refined sugar ain’t good, folks.

But there’s more! The highly refined and highly acidic fats from the burger and fries make you sluggish and tired, even depressed. It slows your digestion and ultimately your metabolism suffers. Let’s not even mention the chemicals they use that accumulate in your fat cells and liver and contribute to a wide array of illnesses. (cancer, anyone?)

Listen up. All your body wants is proper nutrition. What you gave it was crap. So your appetite increases because the brain never gets the “I’m satisfied” signal. It thinks you’re starving. With the sugar spike, your pleasure-based reward center is triggered, driving you to crave more and more sugar. And so your addiction begins. BAM.

These kinds of foods create chaos. Your body doesn’t register these things as food, so you eat more all day long. Plus, your taste buds get hijacked and you become addicted to sugar, so anything that is not crazy-sweet doesn’t taste good to you. It’s an ugly, vicious, fat-inducing cycle.

Now let’s look at the plate of clean and healthy GEM food. As with the first option mentioned above, these calories are made up mostly (although not entirely) of carbs.

These carbs are different, though they are all technically sugars or starches, which convert to sugar in the body. High-fiber, low-sugar carbohydrates such as kale and broccoli are slowly digested and don’t lead to blood sugar and insulin spikes, while table sugar and bread are quickly digested carbs that spike your blood sugar. Slow carbs like kale and broccoli and lentils heal rather than harm.

With The GEM food, there’s no blood sugar or insulin spike, no fatty liver, no hormonal chaos. Your stomach actually finds satisfying nutrients, sending signals to your brain that you are full. There is no triggering of the addiction reward center in the brain. Other benefits: optimized metabolism—yes, your body actually processes the clean GEM food more efficiently!! These foods lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, and boost detoxification, quelling inflammation. Greens contain high levels of vitamin C and folate, which protect against cancer and heart disease. These foods can even change the expression of your genes to help balance your sex hormones, reducing breast and other cancers.

Good, clean, unprocessed food creates a healthy foundation that protects not pollutes. Food doesn’t just contain calories, it contains information. Every bite of food you eat broadcasts a set of coded instructions to your body—instructions that can create either health or disease. Choose the good. In the end, your entire system will transform itself into a lean mean fat busting machine, without ever counting a calorie.

All calories are NOT equal. Some are addictive, others healing, some fattening, some metabolism-boosting. Which ones will you choose?

Need a little help making the choices on your own? Contact The GEM today and a health counselor will be happy to help!

Superfoods – What are they, and more importantly, how we can get them into your daily eating habits? This two part series reveals some incredible superfoods that can easily incorporate into your nutrition regimen.

Obscure supplements with strange names from faraway places are NOT the only superfoods. Some are right in front of your nose! You can select superfoods from most menus and hopefully even pull some from your fridge today!

So, wait. Tell me again what are Superfoods?

Superfoods are a group of foods and supplements that pack an exceptionally healthy and healing punch to your nutrition. Super comes into play when the ratio of calories and the size per serving to beneficial nutrients in especially high. Superfoods help us feel more energetic, boost our immune systems, provide protection against disease, prevent cancer, protect our brains, slow the ageing process and promote a longer, happier and healthier life. You gotta have them!

Get your super powers here:

Quinoa – This tiny, grain-like seed packs some serious nutritional power. With a mild, nutty flavor and a texture similar to couscous, quinoa is one of the only grains that provide all nine essential amino acids. And it’s filled with protein — 10 grams per one-cup serving, to be exact! GEM App: Keep our signature Quinoa salad on hand for an easy and quick snack. Impress your company with the Arugula and Quinoa salad with wild mushrooms, garlic and thyme. We won’t tell!

Kale – This rough and tough green beats out all the rest in terms of nutrition, providing more antioxidants than most other fruits and veggies! Kale has an incredible abundance of phytochemicals, (plant chemicals that aid in the prevention of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension – four of the leading cause of death in the U.S.). Kale a fantastic source of fiber, calcium, iron AND even protein! Prepare it virtually any way, sautéed, steamed, roasted (try it as a chip) or raw in a salad. GEM App: Juice it or grab our famous Kale Salad (we swear you will fall in love). Or try our yummy dehydrated kale chips. We are so excited to have a local guy making organic Kale Chips for us—in amazing flavors!

Mushrooms - One of the most remarkable elements for a healthy immune system. These fungi provide us with the nutrients it needs to generate energy and repair cells. They have been used to cure or improve eyesight, hearing, circulation, impotency, stop migraine headaches, tumors, influenza. They fight and reduce cancerous cells and tumors, AND they help prevent more cancerous cells from forming. GEM App: The Arugula Salad with wild mushrooms, quinoa, garlic and thyme will make your heart sing. Try our Bloom Immunity Boost Drops, an organic blend of herbal extracts that include medicinal mushrooms for super powers beyond belief!

Green Tea – This age-old health secret has been used as a natural remedy for everything from cancer to heart disease! The secret to this delicious drink? Antioxidants! The main superhero here is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), a phytochemical that slows irregular cell growth, which potentially helps prevent the growth of some cancers. GEM App: Get down on our amazing Matcha Latte. Prepare to fall in love and possibly say goodbye to the coffee shop! We dare you to add cinnamon. Our Forever Young Iced Green Tea with a Ginger Boost is so good, it may change your life.

Lentils - High in protein and other essential nutrients, including folate, iron, potassium and a ton of antioxidants. Use it as a vegetarian option to help fight off anemia. Lentils are low glycemic, meaning they cause blood sugar to spike less quickly than other starches—a perfect option for anyone, especially those with diabetes. With lentils’ slow-burning protein and high (cholesterol reducing) fiber, they may boost weight loss. They keep you fuller longer, potentially a key to controlling appetite and slimming down. A half cup of lentils contain 12 grams of protein. Oh, and gram for gram, lentils have more protein than beef! THAT’s what’s for dinner! Lentils can reduce that nasty inflammation, which is associated with everything from heart disease to cancer. GEM App: Lentil Love Soup contains 20 grams of protein, along with lots of good

Garlic – This fragrant vegetable does a lot more than ward off vampires! This anti-inflammatory power house keeps colds, cardiovascular disease and cancer at bay. The allicin compound found within garlic can boost your mood, fight cancer and even your sex-drive Pretty awesome! GEM App: look for garlic in our Lentil Soup, Arugula Salad and Hummus.

Look to add at least one superfood at every meal and your body and mind will reap the rewards. Or, pick up dinner from The GEM and get them all in at once! You can have a great tasting, super-satisfying meal that is packed with nutrient dense superfoods … and it is easy to do! Be a SUPER GEM.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month again. And no one is more aware than I am. As a one-time conqueror of that nasty disease, I made a conscious decision to learn and do everything within my power to keep it from ever rearing its ugly head in my life again. It is all about cancer prevention.

Daunting at first glance, but then as I delved into it, I realized it was the perfect recipe for a vibrant, happy and energetic life–all disguised as “anti-cancer.”

So, what did that entail, you might ask?

The more elusive, yet incredibly important actions, I took were to keep stress and toxic people at bay. Easier said than done. However, your mind is powerful and with the right ammo, you can do that too. Identify those things and people and work to eliminate their importance. (And look for my next blog installment regarding anxiety). Wayne Dyer is a master at guiding you through this.

For the more tangible things, I hit it head on. My diet and exercise changed almost overnight. (I was scared into eating straight!) For everyone else, it means progressive and consistent additions of clean foods and energizing, stress-busting exercise. Interestingly breast, prostate and colon cancers seem to have quite a few similar risk factors. So you can keep your treasures safe with some common actions.

10 things to incorporate into your life to keep your family jewels (breast, prostate, colon) safe:

Green Tea. Studies of green tea drinkers showed a significant reduction in risk of breast cancer while black tea drinkers did not. The active ingredient in green tea that creates this effect is called catechins, a type of polyphenol.

Alkaline Foods / A Whole Foods Plant Based Diet is key. Eat fewer things that have feet (ie, animal protein) and eat more plants. Read The China Study. Mind-blowing research about cancer and animal protein.

Eliminate all preservatives and chemicals from your food. TODAY. No one reveals these dangers better than our friend Robyn O’Brien.

Add breathing exercises to your daily routine. They relieve stess hormones that are released into your system, adding to inflammation. This sh*t works.

Blueberries. All berries contain significant amounts of anti-oxidants that help to reduce cancer risk in general. Berries also contain a phytochemical called ellagic acid, which has been shown to slow the growth of some tumors.

Vitamin D, which you get from exposure to sunshine (around 10 to 15 minutes a day) and green leafy foods, has anticancer properties. It suppresses the formation of new blood vessels that nourish the growth of tumors. The rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer are lower in climates that have the most sunshine. Bring on the Hawaiian Tropic!

Turmeric. Curcumin, a plant chemical, a polyphenol, from the Turmeric root. By lowering inflammatory potential, curcumin has been shown to interrupt the normal progression of cancer cells and is found in most traditional anti-cancer herbal formulas. It is also great for arthritis/joint pain. You can pick up fermented Turmeric extract capsules at The GEM. We love drinking fresh pressed Turmeric shots daily!

More green leafy vegetables in your day. Kale, Spinach, broccoli, arugula, swiss chard, you get the picture. These are excellent sources of fiber, folate, chlorophyll and a wide range of carotenoids, which seem to prevent cancer by acting as antioxidants. These guys go around scavenging potentially dangerous “free radicals” from the body before they can do harm.

Selenium. This overlooked mineral is a potent antioxidant or scavenger of carcinogenic free radicals. It is HUGE as an anti-prostate cancer warrior. A couple of Brazil nuts will do the trick.

Drink less alcohol. Women who had two to three alcoholic drinks per day had a 20 percent higher risk of breast cancer, according the Komen.org website. We no longer play competitive drinking games, people, so cut it back. Seriously.

Kale is the leafy green everyone really cool is talking about. This emerald beauty has found it’s way into the nutrition spotlight and is even referred to as “the new beef.”

WHY should I jump on this VEGGIE HUGGER bandwagon?” Kale here to stay. No longer the garnish on the Denny’s breakfast plate so get used to it.

Nine SUPER FINE reasons to eat more KALE:

1.Immunity Booster. “Super Kale” super charges your immune system with high levels of vitamin C, A and manganese.

2. Bones. Strong ones. Kale is loaded with calcium, it actually has more calcium per serving than milk. The calcium in kale is also absorbed more easily by the body than from dairy products making it the better choice for strong bones. And your skin will glow.

3. Anti-Inflammatory. Kale is strongly anti-inflammatory as it has an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, over 45 different flavonoids. Trust me, this means good stuff.

5. Alkalinity. Kale helps the body maintain an alkaline ph. When your system is alkaline, diseased cells cannot survive. Uhh, thats all you had to say for me!

6. Kicks cancer’s ass. Anti-cancer properties of kale are off the chain. Glucosinates help prevent many different cancers. So do alkalinity and anti-inflammatory characteristics above.

7. Smooth Operator. Fiber: it keeps our digestive system running smoothly so we can absorb the maximum number of nutrients. Fiber also acts like little scrub brushes cleaning out toxins from out body.

8. Iron. Where’s the beef?? Per calorie kale has more iron than beef making it an iron-rich super star. Kale burger anyone?

9. Detox. High sulphur content is essential for the body’s detoxification process.

Dino Kale Rocks The House.

So how do you get this super food into your diet? Here are a few easy ways:

Soups: De-stem and cut a few kale leaves before adding them to soups in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Sneak some in your salad – Massage (yes, massage) the kale with a little sea salt. Add the kale into your regular salad for a nutrient dense kick. OR, come get a life-changing, fabulously yummy kale salad at The GEM.

Kale Chips: Yes you heard me, chips! Fall head over heels for them with a little olive oil and salt, bake at 350.

Smoothies – disguise a kale leaf at a time into your smoothie. You can’t even taste it!

DRINK IT! A Green Glow Juice from The GEM is the perfect starter kit to add more kale in your day.